The Battle of Belmont

Some of the rifles on display at the Columbus-Belmont State Park Museum

The area where Columbus-Belmont State Park is today was once
a fort for the Confederate States of America during the American
Civil War. The area was strategically located on a large
bluff overlooking the Mississippi River. Standing on the
bluff, one can look up the Mississippi River for oncoming Union
forces for miles. And considering how slow movement was
along the river, it would be easy for the Confederate forces to
fire upon the Union armies.

Fort DeRussey - the "Gibraltar of the West"

Confederate General Leonidas Polk created the fort on the
bluff around September 3, 1861. Officially the name was
Fort DeRussey, but Polk referred to the site as the “Gibraltar
of the West”. It was one of the most strategically
significant sites in this part of the country due to its ability
to control traffic on the Mississippi River. The fort
would also help protect important cities down river such as
Memphis and Vicksburg, Miss. It also was the northern
terminus of the Mobile & Ohio Railroad, which was an important
supply line for the Confederacy.

The Chain & Anchor

One of General Polk’s unique ideas was to stretch a one-mile
iron chain across the Mississippi River to keep Union forces
from heading downstream. Today it would seem like a
logistical nightmare to pull off, but considering this was 150
years ago makes the feat all the more impressive. Polk had
hoped the chain would stop the Union boats long enough for the
Confederates to bombard them with cannons.

The anchor and chain on display the park.

The chain was suspended in the river on a pontoon bridge,
made up of several flat-bottomed boats. By removing
certain boats, the chain was raised or lowered. However,
the system was flawed and soon the chain broke. At one
point, too many boats were removed and weight of the chain plus
the current of the river was too much for it to handle.

The chain had an anchor on one end that weighed anywhere from
two to six tons. The chain’s links were 11 inches long and
weighed just over 20 pounds each. When the chain was
exposed during a landslide in December 1925, officials dug
around the chain until the anchor was revealed. It had
been buried in 11 feet of earth with its 9 foot flukes fixed
vertically to 12-foot oak logs. It had been there for 64
years.

The chain was preserved by the Civilian Conservation Corps
(CCC) in 1934 by building a stone monument to hold the chain.

In addition to the chain, Fort DeRussey was home to 17,000
confederate troops and several dozen cannons and land mines.
After the Battle of Belmont, Columbus was home to several wooden
gunboats from the Confederate Navy.

Map on a sign at Columbus Belmont State Park showing the
different areas and routes taken by troops during the Battle
of Belmont. Click for a larger image.

The First Shots

Interestingly, most of the battle action wasn’t seen inside
the fortified town of Columbus, Kentucky or Fort DeRussey, which
sat above the town on the Iron Banks Bluff. Arguably the
most recognized name in Civil War history – Ulysses S. Grant –
fought his first Civil War battle across the river at the tiny
hamlet of Belmont, Missouri, the site of a day-long battle that
eventually would allow Union forces to occupy Fort DeRussey and
Columbus.

Union Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant organized a force of
3,114 men in Cairo, Illinois for a battle at Columbus and Fort
DeRussey to prevent Confederate forces from advancing into
Missouri. During the evening of November 6, 1861, six
steamers supported by the gunboats USS Lexington and USS Tyler
carried Grant’s army southward toward Columbus.

Belmont & Camp Johnson

During the short journey from Cairo to Columbus, Grant
decided to attack the smaller confederate Camp Johnson at
Belmont, Missouri. The fortified camp was significantly
weaker than Fort DeRussey and Grant was looking to give his
inexperienced troops some battle time.

His troops landed north of Belmont on the Missouri shore at
7:00 a.m., November 7th. His troops began to head south
toward Belmont. Confederate General Gideon Pillow sent
reinforcements and 3,000 Confederate troops were set to battle
Grant’s Union forces. The advantage was to the Union due
to them being covered by thick forests. The Confederates’
defense lines were in an open field.

During the late morning hours the Union troops began to march
through the thick trees until they reached the edge. From
there they attacked the vulnerable Confederate lines.
Gunfire exchanged for a while but the Confederates were at a
disadvantage due to their enemies’ defense of tree cover.

Map from the Columbus-Belmont State Park showing the area at the time of the Civil War. Click for larger image.

Union Momentum

By 11:00 a.m. the Confederates were running low on
ammunition. Confederate General Gideon Pillow ordered a
bayonet charge for the entire line, which reportedly confused
the North and drove them deeper into the forest. Shortly,
the Federal soldiers regrouped and began firing heavily on the
southern soldiers and soon both sides were back at their
original line of scrimmage.

The Confederates eventually ran out of ammo, and when new
bullets were the wrong type, the troops began to retreat.
The 12th Tennessee and 13th Arkansas along with other units fled
to an area of abates surrounding Camp Johnson at Belmont.

Over the next two hours or so, the Union troops surrounded
Camp Johnson on the west and south sides. Artillery fire
from across the river at Columbus attempted to stop the North’s
advance on Camp Johnson. But they responded with artillery
fire into the camp and soon the North seized Camp Johnson with
Confederate soldiers retreating upriver away from battle.
Union forces gave chase and the South suffered even more
casualties. Things were not looking well for the
Confederacy.

The Federal troops returned to Camp Johnson and began to
celebrate their victory. Some were looting the camp to get
whatever they could while a few others burned the camp at
Grant’s orders. Unfortunately, a few sick or severely
wounded Confederate troops were unnoticed and they perished
inside their tents as they burned.

Confederates Regroup

Confederate reinforcements from steamers arrived just north
of Camp Johnson. Units lead by Brigadier General Frank
Cheatham organized troops from the 11th Louisiana, the 15th
Tennessee, the 13th Arkansas and the 2nd, 13th, 21st, and 22nd
Tennessee units. Together, with fresh ammunition, they
marched south toward Belmont and Camp Johnson.

By 2:00 p.m. Grant saw the arrival of Confederate
reinforcements. He organized them into a column and began
to march toward their own transports. However, the column
was broken with men running out in all directions.
Cheatham’s troops attached the rear of the North’s column where
the 7th Iowa and 22nd Illinois were located.

With exchanges of gunfire, the North lost ground fast and
soon the South surrounded the 7th Iowa. Federal forces at
the front of the column were met with resistances from the 11th
Louisiana and the 15th Tennessee. The 31st Illinois were
able to break through the South’s line followed by the rest of
the column and they quickly boarded their transports.

By 5:30 that afternoon, more Southern reinforcements arrived
and began firing on the transports. Once the Federal
transports were running upriver, they fired upon the
Confederates on the banks. They eventually cleared the
area and went back to Cairo.

Some of the artifacts on display at the Columbus-Belmont State Park museum.

Who Won?

The North and South both claimed victory at the Battle of
Belmont, even though going by the numbers it was not a clear
victory for either side. Grant suffered 95 casualties with
205 missing or captured. 306 of his units were injured.
The South suffered 105 casualties with 419 wounded. 117
were captured or missing.

The battle itself didn’t have an immediate impact on the
Civil War, but it was important for several reasons. It
was Ulysses S. Grant’s first battle. It initiated the
opening of the Federal campaign to win the strategic Mississippi
River. And Grant’s troops gained much-needed battle
experience for future skirmishes.

Columbus Deserted

In February of 1862, Grant headed down the Tennessee and
Cumberland Rivers and defeated the weaker Fort Henry and Fort
Donelson. This left Columbus unprotected and vulnerable to
Federal attack. On March 2, General Polk and his staff
abandoned Columbus after destroying buildings and supplies.
The next day, Federal forces seized Fort DeRussey and Columbus
and stayed there until the end of the war.

The fort at Columbus, Fort DeRussey, was heavily fortified
which caused General Grant to attack neighboring Belmont,
Missouri, located just across the river. Due to the
strength of the fort, the North didn't directly attack it.
The Union soldiers, led by Grant, attacked the weaker Camp
Johnson at Belmont instead. Grant said his troops were
inexperienced and needed a fight, so he picked the less
fortified Belmont.